Gharafa beat Rayyan in a Qatar Basketball League thriller; Sadd win against Arabi Samuel Monroe Jr of Al Gharafa (centre) prepares to score past Al Rayyan’s Nana Harding Ngueyep (right) during the Qatar Basketball League match at Al Gharafa Sports Club. Monroe Jr scored match-high 26 points in Gharafa’s narrow 75-74 win. PICTURES: Jayaram


By Sports Reporter/Doha

Sailors from eleven countries will be vying for honours at the Qatar Optimist Cup 2014 which will kick off on December 27 at Katara Cultural Village.
The six-day event, which ends on January 2, will see 32 sailors competing in 12 races. The first day has been reserved for practice.
The event is open for competitors born in or after 1999 and is organised by Qatar Sailing and Rowing Federation (QSRF) in co-operation with Doha Sailing Club.
Besides hosts Qatar, sailors from Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands, Switzerland and Turkey will be seen in action at the championship.
Qatar is one of the four countries which will field sailors in both the boys and girls categories. Turkey, India and Netherlands will have one girl competitor each in the event.
QSRF executive director Fahad al-Jaber said all the arrangements have been complete for the hosting of the championship. “Three races will be held per day, depending on the weather conditions. The first day is reserved for practice and the opening ceremony will be held in the evening. One day is reserve for team.”
Al-Jaber informed that one day has been set aside as a spare day, while the final three races will be held on January 2, followed by the closing ceremony.
“Most of the sailors will be reaching Doha by Wednesday,” added Jaber.
Meanwhile, Rashid al-Suwaidi, manager of the Qatar team, informed that the hosts will field 13 sailors at the event.
“The Qatar team has been training for the last two weeks for the event in a close camp,” said al-Suwaidi.
“Most of the sailors, part of the Qatar Open Sailing Cup, took part in the Asian Games in Incheon South Korea. We have high hopes and the preparations have been on the right track,” added the team official.
The Qatari squad includes Khairadin Bu Shama, Zeyad al-Awalma, Yasin Benzarti, Ali al-Sharshani, Abdullah al-Sharshani, Moshin al-Sharshani, Mohammad al-Sharshani, Ali al-Marhoun, Rashid al-Awalma, Abdulrahman al-Nasr, Ghanim al-Sulaiti and Rashid Talfat.
The Qatar event will be an ideal event for sailors from the host country ahead of next month GCC championship which takes place in Oman, said al-Suwaidi.
“The Doha championship will serve as a good preparation for our sailors for the GCC championship. It will also help them to make the necessary improvements and gain valuable international experience competing against sailors from different countries.”
Meanwhile, the Organising Committee, chaired by QSRF president Khalifa al-Suwaidi, have been holding coordination meeting with different committees to discuss organisational issues and to form working committees for hosting the championship.